Originally set to take place last month, the Greater Pinellas Country Fair has been rescheduled for Oct. 1-5 at England Brothers Park.

The Greater Pinellas Country Fair Association needed additional time to obtain nonprofit status and charter designation from the state’s Department of Agriculture, said Marjorie Hynish, the group’s vice president.

Still, she doesn’t consider this a setback for what she expects to become an annual event and Pinellas County tradition.

“It actually happened to work out really, really well for us,” she said.

It allows the group more time to raise the money needed for the event, find additional sponsors and reach out to schools throughout the county before they let out for summer vacation, she said.

Current sponsors include Lowe’s, Walgreen’s and the Pinellas Park/Gateway Chamber of Commerce.

The idea for the Greater Pinellas Country Fair came about nearly a year ago with the hopes of bringing “a true country fair” back to the county, Hynish said.

The five-day event will include competitions in a variety of categories, including, arts, crafts, photography, computer art, sewing, quilting, horticulture and agriculture.

The fair also will include carnival rides, a Miss Pinellas Country Fair Pageant, a science fair, toy tractor races, a 1950s soda shop, mud wars, live animals, car shows, a lumberjack show and more.

A kick-off event, which coincided with the county’s 4-H organization’s annual “Night of the Arts” talent show and offering a sneak peek of the fair, took place March 21 at the Pinellas Park Performing Arts Center.

“It was great,” Hynish said. “The 4-H put on a spectacular show.”

The evening also helped to spread the word about the event.

“People came to the kick-off and didn’t even know what we were all about,” she said. “Some people never even knew that we even ever had a fair. The interest is growing and more people are getting involved. It’s going to be a real country fair.”

She added, “I just want to see the country fair going again before I leave this Earth. We have to do it in a hurry. Because I turn 84 next month.”